


just before the storm

by jooniebeeCi



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Dark Magic, Dog Shifter Song Mingi, Honestly not sure what this is, M/M, Mentions of Violence, One Shot, Prince Kang Yeosang, Royal Guard Song Mingi, Sort Of, surprisingly soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:40:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27622193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jooniebeeCi/pseuds/jooniebeeCi
Summary: But still, he’s royalty. He can act like it. He braces himself, and turns around. Maybe he’s lucky and he’ll see one of the staff, someone too low to question the prince, who might not report this to the king.It’s not one of the staff.“Your highness?”Prince Yeosang is trying to run away, and his guard, Mingi, finds him
Relationships: Kang Yeosang/Song Mingi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 47





	just before the storm

**Author's Note:**

> I know you’re not supposed to introduce fics by apologizing but just once indulge me:  
> -sorry to everyone who subscribed to me for bangtan content, I promise I will get back to that very soon  
> -sorry to everyone who ships minsang(??) I've never written these two before and this weird little fic is probably not what anyone wanted out of a mingi/yeosang au.  
> -and sorry to everyone who reads my fics for that good comforting fluff and not the worldbuilding info dumps with a little bit of dialogue at the end  
> but, well, I had fun writing it :]

Yeosang paces back and forth through the corridor, shuffling through the old maps in his hands and comparing them to the walls. He doesn’t have much time left. His absence from the gala upstairs won’t go unnoticed forever and he can’t afford to be caught like this. But when will he get another chance like this, when all the guards are busy with the event upstairs? He can’t leave until he finds what he’s looking for.

The passage has to be here somewhere, it’s the only thing that makes sense according to the blueprints. He just needs to find it. There’s some secret way out, a tunnel or something, old and forgotten. Built by his great-grandfather who was—well, Yeosang would call him paranoid, except that the man was completely right about how universally hated he was. The threats of assassinations and coups were all very real.

Sometimes Yeosang wonders what would have happened if one of those threats had succeeded. He would never have been born, he supposes. But perhaps the kingdom would be better off now, if his great-grandfather had been stopped. If his grandfather hadn’t followed in his footsteps. If his father had never existed, never been king.

Maybe there would be less dark magic, Yeosang thinks, as he checks that there’s no one in the corridor behind him. The rottweiler guards can be sneaky when they need to.

There wouldn’t be rottweiler guards if his father didn’t exist. They would still be dogs, instead of being forcibly bound into the shape of men and imbued with artificial souls. Another one of his father’s experiments, guards with unthinking loyalty and viciousness without conscience, able to shift between human and canine form at will. No families, no chance of allegiance to anyone besides the king. His father’s most successful use of dark magic so far.

So far.

There’s something about the way his father’s been looking at him recently, that makes Yeosang feel afraid. He’s not first, or even second in line for the throne. And he’s caught his father’s thoughtful eye watching him more and more. And Yeosang is old enough now to know what that look means, and be terrified of it. It’s enough to make staying in the palace a worse option than the consequences of running away.

He’s really going to do it this time. Even if he doesn’t have anywhere to go on the outside, or anyone in the world he can turn to for help, he’s going to do it. He’ll figure it out. If he could just find this damn hidden passage…

There are footsteps coming towards him.

He freezes.

His heart is pounding so loud he can’t concentrate on anything else. Not that it would help. There’s no way to explain what he’s doing down here in this almost abandoned section of the palace when there’s a gala upstairs he should be attending. And there’s definitely no way to explain the blueprints in his hands.

But still, he’s royalty. He can act like it. He braces himself, and turns around. Maybe he’s lucky and he’ll see one of the staff, someone too low to question the prince, who might not report this to the king.

It’s not one of the staff.

“Your highness?”

It’s one of the rottweilers.

“Mingi! I, uh…”

Not just any rottweiler guard, the one specifically assigned to guard Yeosang. Someone who knows without a doubt that he is not supposed to be down here. There’s no way Yeosang will be able to convince him that this isn’t suspicious. And then he’ll report it to the king.

“What are you doing down here, your highness?”

Yeosang can’t even manage to speak. Why is Mingi so tall? Every step he takes down the corridor towards Yeosang, his intimidating stature becomes harder to ignore. Tall, more wiry than muscular, like he could move inhumanly fast if he wanted to. Even though he looks completely human now, there’s always something of his dog self in his face, in the way he moves. Yeosang’s only seen him transform once, to fight off an assassin. It’s hard to describe, and harder to forget.

“Are you looking for something?”

He’s even closer now, and reaching for the papers in Yeosang’s hands. Yeosang lets Mingi take them, dropping his hands and unconsciously stepping back.

Mingi looks down at the papers, grumbling, “You can’t wander off like that, your highness. I’m supposed to be protecting you.” And something about his gentle tone almost has Yeosang letting his guard down. This is just Mingi. He’s been keeping Yeosang safe for half his life. Mingi wouldn’t do anything to hurt him.

But the image of Mingi transforming back into his dog form mid-leap flashes through Yeosang’s mind, reminding him of who made the guard. He wonders if Mingi knows what he’s looking for in those blueprints. With his easygoing, mildly confused expression, it doesn’t seem like he does. Then again, he doesn’t seem like he could kill a man by tearing their throat out with his teeth, but Yeosang has seen that happen.

Yeosang still doesn’t answer him. He’s supposed to be a quick thinker, quick on his feet, but his mind is just blank.

But Mingi doesn’t ask him again. He just shuffles through the blueprints and hums to himself.

By the time Mingi looks back up, Yeosang’s so on edge he could cry. He steps back again, closer to the wall, when Mingi doesn’t say anything. He tries to prepare himself, although he doesn’t know what for. And then Mingi steps towards him, and he steps back again. He can’t run. Even if it wasn’t a terrible idea, he physically can’t seem to force himself to make a break for it. Only step backwards, until his back is pressed against the wall, curling into himself as Mingi keeps getting closer, unconcerned and unreadable face inches from his own.

But Mingi isn’t looking at him. He’s looking above Yeosang. He tenses up, but Mingi just reaches up with one hand, pressing against the wall somewhere above Yeosang’s head. He hears a muffled thumping coming from the wall. 

The stones next to them slide back, revealing a hidden doorway. Mingi smiles wide.

“There, I found it for you.”

Yeosang’s legs give out and he slides down to the floor.

Neither of them says anything for a minute, as Yeosang tries to start breathing normally. “Is there something I can do,” he finally asks, “to make you not report this to the king?” He doesn’t know what to expect. It’s probably all over. The guards were literally created to be loyal to the king, and he has nothing to offer.

But Mingi crouches down to be at eye level with him. “Bring me with you,” he says simply. “And stop keeping secrets from me.”

The adrenaline is quickly fading, and Yeosang feels lost. “Bring you with me,” he repeats, confused.

“Yeah. If you’re running away, you need someone to help you. Let me come. Let me protect you.”

Yeosang furrows his brow. Mingi still isn’t making any sense. “You want to come?”

“Yeah.”

“But… the king?” he asks in a small voice.

“Your highness,” he says. “You don’t have to worry about that. I do what the king says because he said to protect you. But he doesn’t matter.” Mingi stands back up, reaching a hand out to pull Yeosang up with him. “My only purpose in life is keeping you safe. It doesn’t matter who created me or who gives me orders. My only loyalty is to you.”

Yeosang lets himself be pulled up, now having to look up to see Mingi’s face, who’s looking down at him hopefully. Mingi, who wants to protect him. Mingi, who is loyal to him, not his father.

Mingi, who has been looking after him, always hovering quietly or trailing behind him, since Yeosang was barely a teenager. When he hadn’t grown into any of his features yet, awkwardly tall and always a little lost, more of a puppy than anything. They’ve never been close— royalty don’t get close to anyone.

But Yeosang thinks, if he could trust anyone in the world, anyone at all, he would trust Mingi.

“You’ll let me come, right? You’ll let me help?”

Yeosang nods, and the smile that breaks out on Mingi’s face is like a tiny candle, lighting up the dark corridor around them.

**Author's Note:**

> it's more like a little snapshot of their story, so sorry if the ending isn't very fulfilling. but they do escape! together! good for them  
> idk, maybe i'll write more little snapshots from this universe....  
> if you did like this, maybe leave me a kudos or comment! it would make me really happy :]
> 
> and you can find me on my (bangtan heavy) twitter! [jooniebeeCi](https://twitter.com/jooniebeeCi)


End file.
